MEET RIELA
Riela is one of the newest artists in the music industry. Born and bred in Miami, this LA-based musician has become quite popular after the release of her much-regarded EP, Tranquila y Tropical. Her eclectic mix of Spanish and English lyrics and tunes makes her music unique, catchy, and well-liked.
The young artist began singing at the tender age of six. She eventually studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, perfecting her vocals. After graduating, she did not pursue music for a while. Instead, she worked in the music industry. Along the way, she had an epiphany to follow her passion and work for herself.
Soon after, she returned to making music and dropped her EP in October. The best way to describe Riela’s music is as being mellow and tortured. Her songs are the kind that you would want to put on repeat, and her songs fit best in the genres of r&b, alternative, and indie. Yet, at the same time, the heavy and catchy beats in her songs are reminiscent of 90s r&b.
However, Riela believes that she does not want to define herself by one genre since she is still searching for her voice and figuring out who she is as a person and a musician. All in all, she makes music that you can dance to and have on repeat for days.
Besides vocals, Reila can also play the guitar and even dabble in piano. However, she believes that her time at Berklee College of Music made her realize her true passion for singing. Having grown up in a Cuban and Panamanian family, Spanish music has greatly influenced her. However, her upbringing in Miami led to her finding disco-pop influences such as Madonna, Usher, Britney Spears, etc.
The young and talented musician does not necessarily aim to create music in Spanglish, but it just happens naturally to her. She says that sometimes, she would simply write that down when she forgets a word in English but knows it in Spanish. This led to her individualistic voice and one-of-a-kind music.
Riela produces music that most of the youth resonates with, such as love, power struggles, taking charge of the moment, and yearning for a person. When asked about how she comes up with such songs, she states that it is mostly from her experiences. She has an elaborate plan on releasing her upcoming music and believes that the next two EPs and the last EP she released are all part of a trilogy. This trilogy follows a story, one that is based on her life experiences. The first of this trilogy was Tranquila y Tropical, and the next one will be Llorar y Perrear. She has not come up with the name of her third EP yet.
The young artist has already released a single from her second EP called ‘lyu2’, which is short for like you used to. It follows the same mellow yet upbeat music with insightful and strong lyrics that are a mixture of English and Spanish.
